MarsBlog.net

FYI: The erratic posting will likely continue until after Thanksgiving due to work and holiday travel. Our first post-ATP update to the Orion configuration is due on 11/22, which means a whole lot of overtime between now and then.

Posted on November 12th, 2006 under Meta. Comments Off

…that the astronautical abomination known as the Stick is facing a none-too-soon abortion. It’s either that, or NASA prioritizes its added requirements for Orion.

On the other hand, another group at LM appears to be thinking ahead to the possibility that the Stick might go bye-bye. Hmm…

Maybe if we get lucky, the Stick will be dumped and the GAO’s recommended review of NASA’s MCAD selection will result in a switch from Pro/E to CATIA V…and we’ll get rid of both of the two worst elements of Constellation.

ADDENDUM: John Goff posts a bit more, based on info in the L2 forums at NASASpaceFlight.com (which I really need to buy a subscription to, myself). Given other changes NASA wants in the CM, John’s discussion makes me wonder if chucking the Stick in favor of a more capable vehicle might open the door to a return to the 5.5m capsule diameter.

Posted on November 12th, 2006 under Space Technology. Comments: 2

Since Tim has asked a couple of times now, here’s a link to the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial.

Looks interesting. The prominent participation of Spider and Jeanne Robinson is a little off-putting, though — hasn’t Spider done enough damage to Heinlein?

Posted on November 12th, 2006 under Science Fiction. Comments Off